1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the game of golf and more specifically to improvements in golf gaming systems allowing groups of golfers to play competitive golf using full length shots in minutes instead of hours. In specific, the present invention relates to methods, locations, installations, devices and systems adapted and arranged for observing, processing, analyzing and communicating data and images of individual or group golf gaming performance with respect to golf balls in play in three-dimensional environments.
2. Background Information
The game of golf is enjoyed world-wide by both men and women from a variety of diverse cultures. Recent estimates indicate that there are currently over 32,000 golf courses in the world with approximately half being in the United States. Despite the popularity of the sport, it is estimated that in the United States, the number of people who play golf 25 times or more per year fell from 6.9 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2005. A smaller decline in the number who played golf at all was also reported, falling from 30 million to 26 million over the same period. The golf industry has identified time as the biggest barrier to participation in the sport.
A number of venues have been offered for individuals who cannot find the time to play a traditional round of golf but would like the satisfaction of doing so. For example, several driving ranges which include features to simulate a real round of golf and other golf simulation platforms have been previously described. However, there are four critical functions that a venue must perform in order to reasonably duplicate the golfing experience. Those include: accurately measure a full length golf shot taken in the “real world”; measure many shots simultaneously taken from many tee boxes; provide measurements for all shots without requiring the shot to hit a target; and differentiating between carry and roll so that the experience of playing across hazards (as found while playing a golf course) can be faithfully re-created.
Unfortunately, a system that provides these basic capabilities has yet to be described. Thus there is a need for an improved golf gaming system that offers time convenience while more accurately re-creating real golf play on the course of the player's choice and additionally allowing multiple players to compete.